Aranos: No Religion/Spitting Revivalist Dreams
of Everlasting Pain
Brainwashed

Jessica Bailiff: Live on VPRO Radio, Amsterdam
Brainwashed

Greater Than One: Bloodstream/Airstream
Brainwashed

Sybarite: Dolorous Echo/The Mast
Brainwashed

In press notes accompanying these four 7-inch coloured singles, Jon Whitney makes a strong argument for vinyl over CDs; without question, a compact disc does seem impersonal after one has cradled these sumptuous slabs of vinyl. Not only that, presentation renders the music even more special with each single housed in a full-colour sleeve. Yet Whitney concedes the CD has its advantages: portability, durability, and unblemished sound quality, to name three. Consequently, Brainwashed is offering an enticing deal: acquire the latest singles (from Sybarite, Jessica Bailiff, and Aranos) and the company will send a CD-R containing the trio in question plus the contents of its first three releases in the series (music by Edward Ka-Spel, Greater Than One, and Coil remixes by Thread).

And how does the material sound? All good and all stylistically different, with the material ranging from Sybarite's electronic vignettes to Bailiff's homespun vocal folk. The 1999 single, Greater Than One's (Michael Wells) red disc contains two tracks “Bloodstream” and “Airstream.” The former is a carefully modulated electronic soundscape of dramatic string washes, rattles, and quiet machine rhythms, the latter a Gas-like setting of subtle microhouse overlaid by dense string clusters.

The three others are 2005 releases. The two songs on Sybarite's (Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Xian Hawkins) blue vinyl are poppy, upbeat electronic tracks. Sparkling melodies weave through whirrs, clicks, and lightly scurrying breaks in “Dolorous Echo” while “The Mast” sets sail on a becalmed sea of soft nautical pings, pretty guitar flutter, and blurry surges.

Recorded live for VPRO Radio in The Netherlands, Jessica Bailiff's 'coke bottle,' transparent vinyl disc includes three originals and a cover of Flying Saucer Attack's “Come and Close My Eyes.” Enhanced by Michael Anderson's blurry textures and Nathan Amundson's bass, Bailiff's entranced whispers and acoustic strums distinguish “Shadow.” The gentle “Beautiful Soul” originally appeared on her 1998 Kranky debut Even in Silence while “Mary,” from her 2002 self-titled album, is rendered haunting by the background haze of Anderson's treated guitar. In a lovely rendition, she imbues “Come and Close My Eyes” with delicate intimacy.

The two pieces on Aranos's green disc are as eccentric as his other work (Tangomango, Bering Sea). The A side's “No Religion” is dominated by the Czech-born Bohemian Irish resident's defiant rant (“I got no religion and I'm glad”) with the briefest of violin appearances dropped into its middle. (Describing the Old Testament as “a seductively beautifully written justification of violence and abhorrent behaviour mainly perpetrated by God and his followers” will leave no one guessing Aranos's thoughts on the matter.) The B side's “Spitting Revivalist Dreams of Everlasting Pain” continues his “expression of dismay” in a writhing instrumental exercise of violin scrapes and clanging noise.

June 2005